There exists in all the universe no lovelier thing than a crew of misfits who, having nowhere else to belong, discover they belong to one another. This is the magic of the found family—that delicious alchemy whereby strangers become siblings of the soul, and a rattling spaceship transforms into home.
If your heart has been captured by the ragtag crew of Firefly’s Serenity or warmed by Becky Chambers’ Wayfarers books, then you shall be most pleased to discover these thirteen tales of chaotic space misfits finding their people among the stars.
The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez
Here is a story that spans centuries yet feels as intimate as a whispered secret between friends. Captain Imani and her crew traverse the loneliness of interstellar space, where time moves strangely, and the years slip away like water through fingers.
When they discover a mysterious mute boy named Ahro amidst fiery wreckage, the crew becomes something more than coworkers—they become protectors, guardians, family. Jimenez weaves themes of love, sacrifice, and connection across the vast emptiness of space with prose so beautiful it might make you weep in the most pleasant way imaginable. A Locus Award finalist and a triumph of hopeful science fiction.
Network Effect by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries)
Murderbot—that sardonic, socially anxious construct who would rather watch television serials than save humans—has quite accidentally acquired a family. Dr. Mensah and her people of Preservation treat this reluctant hero as a person rather than property, much to Murderbot’s profound inconvenience.
In this Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Award winner, our favorite security unit must rescue its humans whilst navigating the complications of genuine friendship. The found family here develops not through grand declarations but through the slow accumulation of care, protection, and decidedly reluctant affection.
Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
What happens when Academy star pupil Tyler Jones, through his own heroic foolishness, ends up saddled with a squad of rejects nobody else would touch? Magic, dear reader. Absolute magic.
Squad 312 comprises a sarcastic diplomat, a scientist with questionable ethics, a techwiz with a chip the size of a small moon on his shoulder, an alien warrior with anger issues, and a pilot who harbors secret feelings. Add one young woman who has been sleeping in cryo for two hundred years, and you have the ingredients for a found family that will make your heart grow three sizes. Vividly told in seven voices, this is squad goals among the stars.
Cascade Failure by L.M. Sagas
The crew of the Ambit—a philosophical AI captain, a knitting doctor-engineer, and a grumpy former soldier—accidentally acquires a deserter and a young programmer whilst investigating a planet-killing weapon. What follows is precisely the sort of chaotic family bonding that occurs when people who ought not work together discover they are rather brilliant at it.
Sagas delivers a debut that Publishers Weekly called “a resounding success,” complete with rapid-fire adventure, touching conflict resolution, and yes, a space-faring cat. For those who miss the scrappy found-family energy of Firefly, this book offers a splendid remedy.
Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey (The Expanse)
The crew of the Rocinante did not choose one another—they survived together, which is rather a different matter and perhaps a stronger bond. When their ice freighter is destroyed by unknown forces, Jim Holden, Naomi Nagata, Amos Burton, and Alex Kamal find themselves in possession of a Martian gunship and entangled in conspiracy.
This Hugo-nominated space opera launched a nine-book series and a beloved television adaptation. The Rocinante’s crew becomes family not through sentiment but through shared danger, loyalty forged in the fires of conflict, and the simple fact that they are all each other has got.
Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding (Tales of the Ketty Jay)
If one mixed Firefly with steampunk pirates and a dash of Pirates of the Caribbean, one would arrive at something resembling the Tales of the Ketty Jay. Captain Darian Frey commands an airship crewed by scoundrels: a guilt-ridden daemonist, a disgraced doctor, pilots both twitchy and delusional, and a navigator hiding a terrible secret.
When Frey is framed for assassinating an heir to the throne, this motley collection of ne’er-do-wells must work together to clear their names. Short-listed for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, this series delivers beautifully crafted adventure with a found family held together by necessity, which slowly transforms into something like affection.
The Disasters by M.K. England
The Breakfast Club meets Guardians of the Galaxy in this tale of Academy washouts who become heroes despite themselves. Hotshot pilot Nax Hall is expelled from Ellis Station Academy in less than twenty-four hours, only to witness a terrorist attack and find himself on the run with three fellow failures.
This diverse crew—including a trans girl medic, a former child genius with anxiety, and a brilliant hacker—must pull off a dangerous heist to expose the truth. England crafts a found family from people society has deemed not good enough, proving that belonging comes not from credentials but from choosing one another.
Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston
The Anastasia legend receives a starship makeover in this tale of Ana, a scoundrel raised by space pirates after being found drifting through the void with a sentient android. The crew of the Dossier—human, robot, and alien alike—represents the sweetest, messiest found family this side of the galaxy.
When Ana’s android begins to glitch, she will stop at nothing to save him, embarking on an adventure full of lost heirs, rebellion, and the discovery that family is simply who you fight for. A Rainbow Book List Selection perfect for fans who enjoy their found families with a side of retelling.
Trading in Danger by Elizabeth Moon (Vatta’s War)
Kylara Vatta did not expect her military career to end in disgrace, nor did she expect to captain her family’s oldest trading ship to a scrapyard. Yet when opportunity and danger present themselves in equal measure, Ky must transform a simple crew into something capable of surviving a colonial war.
Moon, a former Marine, brings authenticity to this tale of a young captain earning her crew’s loyalty through competence, courage, and genuine care. Strategy-filled space opera that rewards readers who enjoy watching disparate individuals forge bonds under pressure.
Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks (The Culture)
The novel that revived space opera and launched the legendary Culture series follows Bora Horza Gobuchul, a shapechanger leading a motley crew of mercenaries—human and machine—through a galaxy at war. Banks created worlds of stunning imagination whilst never forgetting that stories live in the connections between people.
If you enjoy your found families morally complex and your space opera philosophically rich, the Culture series offers endless rewards. This is science fiction with grand vision and intimate character work, a combination that influenced a generation of writers.
Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders
Tina Mains has spent her whole life waiting to be activated as a clone of a legendary alien war hero. When the beacon in her chest finally calls, she discovers that destiny is rather more complicated than expected—particularly when everyone assumes you are a brilliant tactician, and you are simply a teenager from Earth.
Fortunately, Tina is surrounded by a crew she can trust, including her best friend Rachel and a beautifully diverse cast aboard the HMSS Indomitable. This Locus Award winner delivers found family, sapphic romance, and ethical questions about heroism wrapped in genuinely fun space adventure.
The Icarus Hunt by Timothy Zahn
Jordan McKell, pilot and smuggler, accepts command of a strange ship called the Icarus, only to discover his ragtag crew harbors a saboteur, his mysterious cargo is wanted by an alien monopoly, and trust is a luxury he cannot afford. Part space opera, part thriller, this novel pays homage to Alistair MacLean whilst delivering that particular pleasure of watching suspicious strangers become reluctant allies.
Zahn creates a crew where no one is quite what they seem, and the found family emerges not from immediate warmth but from the slow realization that survival requires working together.
God’s War by Kameron Hurley (Bel Dame Apocrypha)
Nyx is a bounty hunter leading a crew of mercenaries on an alien world where technology runs on genetically engineered bugs and holy war has raged for centuries. Her team includes a shapeshifter, a gun specialist, and an underskilled magician—held together not by affection but by necessity and a world-weary leader’s ruthless determination.
Hurley invented “bugpunk” and delivered a found family that is gritty, morally complicated, and utterly unforgettable. Hugo Award-winning author Hurley offers a vision of found family that acknowledges how hard it can be to trust when the world has given you every reason not to.
Why Found Family Works So Beautifully in Science Fiction
Science fiction has a particular talent for the found family trope. It throws characters into ships and stations far from home, into adventures that demand cooperation, into circumstances where choosing your people becomes not merely pleasant but necessary for survival.
The best found family stories understand that these relationships are forged through shared experience, through danger overcome and quiet moments between crises. They show us that belonging is not about where you came from but about who stands beside you when things go wrong.
Whether you prefer your space families cozy and warm like the Wayfarers, scrappy and bickering like the crew of Serenity, or complicated and intense like the mercenaries of bugpunk worlds, these thirteen books offer doorways into that most satisfying of story experiences: watching strangers become the family they choose.
